Strong Opening Weekend from New England and Kansas City

byDavidonMarch 30, 2008

In the opening weekend of the MLS there were some surprises, as defending champion Houston and revamped DC United were both shutout.

New England Revolution 3 Houston Dynamo 0

In a match up of the last two MLS Finals the New England Revolution dominated defending champion Houston Dynamo beating them 3-0. Steve Ralston and Adam Cristman both scored goals in the first half. Sainey Nyassi made it 3-0 in stoppage time for the Revs. Revs goalie Matt Reis played great and earned the shutout to extend New England’s winning streak, during regular season games, over Houston to 5 games, going 2-0-3 in that 5 game span. However Houston wins win it counts beating the Revs in the MLS finals in 2006 and 2007.

Ralston gave the Revs a 1-0 lead after tapping in a rebound on Kenny Mansally’s shot on goal in the 15th minute. Jeff Larentowicz sent in a scorching shot that was saved but Cristman was right there to head in the rebound finding the back of the net giving New England a 2-0 lead.

Reis had 10 shutouts in 2007 and made his best save in the game in the 60th minute diving to knock a shot made by Houston’s Stuart Holden out of bounds. Cristman was a lade addition to the starting lineup of New England, as the 2nd year forward replaced Revs scoring leader Taylor Twellman, who was out with an injured knee. New England dominated possession the entire game and out shot Houston 8-3. The Revs constantly put pressure on Dynamo goalie Pat Onstad.

Kansas City Wizards 2 DC United 0

DC United has been given a lot of press this off-season for all of their new additions, but it was the latest additions to the Kansas City Wizards that gave KC the victory. Argentine forward Claudio Lopez and Columbian forward Ivan Trujillo each scored in the 2nd half to give the Wizards the 2-0 victory. Wizards’ goalie Kevin Hartman made 3 saves and added to his league shutout record, which now stands at 68.

Just after halftime in the 47th minute Trujillo took a feed from Jack Jewsbury and slid a shot past D.C. goalie Zach Wells to give the Wizards a 1-0 lead.

Lopez received a long pass from Ryan Pore in the top of the penalty box and chipped a shot over Wells to give the Wizards a 2-0 lead in the 61st minute. Wells got a hand on the shot from Lopez, but it was not enough to keep the ball out of the net. Lopez recently received his work visa and is probably the biggest signing of the Wizards, which has immediately paid dividends.

The game was held in CommunityAmerica Ballpark, while Arrowhead Stadium is undergoing renovations.